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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25359649">make no mistake that with you in my life</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndreaLyn/pseuds/AndreaLyn'>AndreaLyn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Malex Week 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:21:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,492</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25359649</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndreaLyn/pseuds/AndreaLyn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael wants to introduce his people to music, and the best music he's ever heard is Alex's. It starts a campaign to create a disk filled with music dear to his friends and family, and led by Alex's songs.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Michael Guerin/Alex Manes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>122</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>make no mistake that with you in my life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thanks to Crystal for the beta!</p>
<p>Day 6 - Malex Week - Music</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The truth is, Michael’s not sure when he made his decision to change his ship into a satellite, only that once he’d made it, he felt <i>grounded</i>.</p>
<p>Literally, but also in a figurative way. </p>
<p>It’s a decision made with full conviction, one he makes on a random summer day when he sees Alex settling his crutches next to his patio chair and settling in with his notebook to write lyrics to a new song. Every so often, he sneaks glances at where Michael is working on Alex’s SUV, and it’s so <i>normal</i> that it makes Michael feel like a human.</p>
<p>For once, that’s not a bad thing.</p>
<p>What really solidifies his plans, though, is the smile Alex gives him. It’s sweet, warm, sunny, appreciation of the work Michael is doing for his car, of the lemonade Michael had set down for him after lunch, and he realizes that he’s always been good for Alex, they just needed to talk to each other and be more honest.</p>
<p>That’s the day he decides -- he doesn’t need a spaceship.</p>
<p>What he needs is a satellite, something he can send up into the stars to communicate back home about the things he’s learned on Earth. He starts filling up the storage banks with information -- records of what happened to their people on Earth in all its painful honesty, mathematical formulas that humans have developed, a timeline of social progress. Once he’s done, he hits the cultural sharing. He’s got Max’s books and Isobel’s aesthetic trends, but that’s when he remembers that their planet doesn’t have music and this key, crucial part of his life is something they’ve never experienced before.</p>
<p>Luckily, Michael’s got a solve for that. Michael drops by the one electronics store in Roswell and gets a recording microphone as a gift for Alex. </p>
<p>Then, one night after dinner, Michael nods towards the office. “Hey, c’mere,” he says, once they’ve tucked away the leftovers in the fridge. </p>
<p>Alex gives him a suspicious look as he approaches, but that melts away the instant he sees the gift-wrapped box that Michael’s put on the table. He sets his crutch against the wall and reaches out to let Michael help him down into his lap (after dinner is a prosthetic-free zone in their house, and a time for Alex to heal sore muscles).</p>
<p>“Is it an anniversary?”</p>
<p>“If it were, I think you’d be reminding me,” Michael admits, because he’s not great about remembering those exact dates. “It’s not an anniversary or a birthday present, it’s just an ‘Alex is amazing and deserves great things’ present.” </p>
<p>Alex doesn’t seem convinced, so Michael reaches for the gift to press into his hands. “Michael,” he warns.</p>
<p>“It’s nothing big,” he insists. “I just noticed that you were missing some equipment from your studio, that’s all.” </p>
<p>Michael tears into the paper for Alex, when he doesn’t seem like he’s on board, as if he’s opening a child’s Christmas present when they’re too distracted. Alex shakes his head, clearly laughing at Michael, but he lets it happen. It’s only when the paper is gone that Alex takes the box in hand, staring at it in awe.</p>
<p>“What made you buy this?” he asks quietly, staring at the recording microphone.</p>
<p>“You’ve got everything else,” Michael points out. “I always wondered why you didn’t have the stuff to record,” he admits. He’s bought it because he has selfish intentions, wanting Alex to sing so that Michael can use it, but it is something that’s been at the back of his mind. Alex has everything else, right down to the software on his computer to produce tracks, but not the microphone to record his own music.</p>
<p>Alex shrugs as he turns the box in his hand. “My music has always been for me or a live performance. I gave up on wanting to make music as a career when I was seventeen. I still enjoy it,” he rushes to say, before Michael can remind him about what he’s doing now. “Recording never seemed to matter.” </p>
<p>It makes a kind of sense, but it does mean that Alex is probably going to ask why Michael is buying this for him <i>now</i>.</p>
<p>Alex pries out the microphone and uses it to gesture at him, proving that Michael’s right about Alex’s inability to let a gift be given without knowing why. “Why are you buying me recording hardware, suddenly?”</p>
<p>“Because I want to be able to hear your voice, whenever, wherever I am,” he says, glad that he can be honest about that.</p>
<p>He does want to be able to listen to Alex when he’s changing filters and doing oil changes. He wants to play Alex’s music while he cooks. So what if he also wants to share it with the galaxies above them and hopefully, his people? They should be so lucky.</p>
<p>Clearly, Alex hadn’t been expecting that, given the stunned look on his face and the way his mouth is working without making sound, like he’s struggling to find the right words.</p>
<p>Michael’s there to bail him out and give him something else to focus on. </p>
<p>“C’mon. Play something, let’s break the thing in.”</p>
<p>“I know a few songs,” Alex teases, tipping his head to the side to kiss Michael’s cheek. “Got a request?” </p>
<p>Michael shifts them so that Alex is sitting on the couch and Michael can grab the guitar to settle it in Alex’s hands. He’s quick to get the microphone out of the box, bending down to situate it on the table next to them.</p>
<p>“That one, the cover you did,” Michael pleads, still kneeling as he runs the power cords and hooks up the microphone to Alex’s laptop, booting it up so he can make sure this is recorded for posterity. “Never Had?” He finishes hooking everything up, crawling back towards Alex and settles there on his knees before him.</p>
<p>The tender touch of Alex’s hand to his cheek makes him melt, sinking down into the area rug as he stares up at Alex, deciding that he’s good here. </p>
<p>“Yeah,” Alex murmurs, drawing his hand away so his fingers slide over Michael’s cheek, “I could do that.” </p>
<p>He uses his powers to click the ‘record’ button as Alex starts with the opening chords of the song. From there, the only thing he does is sit there on the ground, staring up at Alex with the adoration born when he was seventeen, in awe that one human could be this incredible. In the following decade and change, he’s only become more amazing in Michael’s eyes, but never is it more evident than it is when Alex is singing <i>to him</i> like this.</p>
<p>Fuck, this is why he’d walked out all those years ago when Alex had sung at the Pony, a song about them, about never looking away. </p>
<p>If he’d stayed, he never would’ve been able to resist pinning Alex to the stage and begging to be welcomed home.</p>
<p>Alex finishes the last few chords, humming softly as he finishes playing. Silent, Michael makes sure he’s stopped recording before he crawls forward, prying the guitar from Alex’s hands to get it out of the way. </p>
<p>“Good?” Alex checks.</p>
<p>Straddling him with the speed and alacrity of a gymnast, Michael pins Alex by the shoulders to the couch, staring at him in disbelief. “Don’t make me show you how good,” is a threat that doesn’t carry much weight, given the delighted smile it earns from Alex.</p>
<p>“Show me how <i>great</i> it was instead,” he encourages, eyes bright as anything. </p>
<p>Alex, true to his skills, does exactly that.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Two weeks later, Michael decides it’s time to get more music for his project.</p>
<p>They’re making out, with Alex pinned against the wall. Michael still doesn’t know how it started, he just knows that Alex came home in his leather jacket looking so good, and he couldn’t stand another moment that wasn’t spent kissing him. The studio beckons, though, and Michael grabs at Alex’s jacket to slide his thumbs over the material, tugging him back as they stumble, messily, back towards the studio space in their office.</p>
<p>Then, Michael gives Alex a light nudge down so he’s sitting on the piano bench.</p>
<p>The flushed rise in Alex’s cheeks is so <i>good</i> and incredible, but instead of prying off his shirt and straddling Alex’s waist, he sits down beside him, reaching for the microphone. </p>
<p>“Play something.”</p>
<p>Alex gapes at him, staring accusingly at Michael’s lips, like somehow they did him dirty, even though they had nothing to do with it. </p>
<p>“Michael…”</p>
<p>Michael hooks his chin on Alex’s shoulder, busting out the puppy dog eyes. “Please?” he begs. </p>
<p>Those eyes have yet to fail.  </p>
<p>Alex lets out a frustrated little breath, but he sinks his fingers down onto the keys. Michael leans over and sees why he’s having such a struggle. He reaches over to squeeze Alex’s hard-on through his jeans, brushing his thumb along the stitching as he leans in to kiss his neck.</p>
<p>“I’m gonna make it worth your while, don’t worry.”</p>
<p>“You’re unbelievable,” Alex mutters under his breath, but when it becomes clear that Michael’s not going to change his mind, he nods and ignores the way Michael fidgets with the microphone and boots up the software. Alex stares at Michael with a petulant and heated look that Michael has to look away to ignore.</p>
<p>He wins when Alex plays the first few chords of <i>With or Without You</i>, singing directly to Michael. </p>
<p>Michael’s the one who wanted this. He’s the one who asked for it, and yet, when Alex sings <i>You give it all but I want more,</i> without blinking, it takes every ounce of his reserve not to pounce on Alex, but he doesn’t. </p>
<p>It would ruin the recording.</p>
<p>That’s the only reason he doesn’t, but he still ends up sitting on his hands so he doesn’t ruin the beautiful acoustic version of the song that Alex is performing. His people have never had music before and Michael intends to give them a crash course on the most beautiful sounds in the galaxy, at least, according to Michael’s opinions.</p>
<p>The last chords are probably a lot more <i>forte</i> than they’re supposed to be -- a hint that Michael’s not the only one pent up -- and the <i>minute</i> he finishes, he grabs Michael’s face and hauls him in for a kiss.</p>
<p>(Later, Michael will realize the recording still has the muffled whimper of Michael being so fucking grateful that Alex took charge like that, but he leaves it in thinking that people deserve to hear it)</p>
<p>“Alex,” he moans, clicking the ‘off’ button on the program because his people don’t need to hear <i>everything</i>.</p>
<p>“Are you gonna take me to bed <i>now</i>?”</p>
<p>“Definitely with you,” Michael quips, hauling Alex over his shoulder like the cave-alien that he actually is. He hums the song Alex had been singing as they make out in bed, but he shuts up while his mouth is occupied with other, far more important things.</p>
<p>The humming resumes while they curl up and even though Alex doesn’t say it, Michael can tell how pleased he is by the soft warmth pinging through the mild psychic connection they have from faded fingerprints on Alex’s skin placed there from Michael’s exploring hands.</p>
<p>“You liked it, huh?”</p>
<p>“No one sings like you,” Michael says honestly. “Not in this state, not on the planet.”</p>
<p>“You’re biased.”</p>
<p>“Enough to ruin objective tests,” agrees Michael, but Alex doesn’t seem too upset about that.</p>
<hr/>
<p>It’s around the fifth time Michael asks to record Alex singing something that he’s busted.</p>
<p>“Michael, if you want me to make you a mixtape, you could just ask,” Alex teases him, the chords fading as he stops playing. Michael reaches out to set Alex’s fingers back on the strings, wanting him to keep going. </p>
<p>Now that he’s started this project, it means the world to him.</p>
<p>Maybe even the universe.</p>
<p>“It’s for my people,” he explains quietly.</p>
<p>Alex knows all about the change of plans, about the satellite, and about Michael’s intent to put it into orbit and broadcast. What he doesn’t know is the role he’s going to play in the data packet that gets sent out amongst the stars.</p>
<p>The universe is going to learn about music on planets where it’s had centuries to evolve from the soothing sounds of Alex’s strong voice, his steady hands on guitar strings, and his confidence with piano chords.</p>
<p>Michael rubs his palm over Alex’s arm, staring at him like he’s seventeen and he’s falling in love all over again. “I want my people to learn about music and I want it to be because they heard you singing. I want your voice, your songs, your playing to be the first introduction they ever have to music before they hear the rest Earth has to offer.” </p>
<p>The look Alex gives him feels unearned, because that level of soft warmth feels like it could bowl Michael over. It’s like the sun shining on him for the first time, and Michael ends up ducking his head down.</p>
<p>“I want the first song to be the one you wrote,” he says, as he’s fighting to look up again, “the one I walked out on the first time you played it.”</p>
<p>“Would You Come Home?”</p>
<p>Michael did exactly that, and that’s why it needs to be the one on the data packet. He figured it out eventually, coming home to Alex. It almost feels inappropriate to send those messages out into space for anyone to hear, but at the same time, it’s necessary.</p>
<p>He wants his people to know about the human that took Michael’s heart into his hands, took his life into his care, and made sure that he’d be loved.</p>
<p>“I want them to hear the most beautiful music this planet has to offer,” he says, fierce in his belief that Alex is instrumental to that. “I’ll find other songs to mix in, from plenty of other genres. Rosa’s already offered to help despite me warning her that she only gets a thirty minute section of tracks, but what matters to me is you,” he says, meeting Alex’s eye. “I want it to be your voice they hear first, your words, your heart and soul.”</p>
<p>“Michael,” Alex breathes out, almost like he’s been punched.</p>
<p>“What?” Michael asks worriedly. “You don’t want to?”</p>
<p>“No, Michael,” Alex rushes to answer, “No, it’s just...no one’s ever said such an incredible thing to me before.” He laughs sheepishly, shaking his head. “That’s not true. You say these things all the time. When you kiss me and say nothing but me matters, when you call our love cosmic. I guess, by now, I should be used to the fact that you’re a romantic, at heart.” </p>
<p>“So, that’s a yes? You’ll help out?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’ll help,” Alex agrees, still incandescent with happiness. “I’ll talk to everyone else, too. I’m sure everyone’s got some opinions and this can’t just be me serenading the stars.”</p>
<p>Michael would argue that it absolutely can be, but Alex probably has a point. They should include the others. </p>
<p>“So,” Alex says, with renewed fervor now that he knows what’s really going on. “We’ve got some music to record, don’t we?” </p>
<p>Now that Alex is on board, the tables turn swiftly. </p>
<p>Alex is the one putting their makeout sessions on hold and talks about cancelling dates so they can stay in and he can play around with contributions to the album. He even goes out of his way to continue on it when Michael isn’t around. </p>
<p>Michael returns home from a day with Sanders going over his financials (preparing him for when he takes over completely), to find a USB on the kitchen table. “I recorded some tracks for you today,” Alex calls over to him, from where he’s typing away on his laptop. “Listen to them later,” he suggests, raising his brow. “See what you think about adding them?”  </p>
<p>He pockets the USB in his jeans, cupping Alex’s neck as he bends over to press a kiss to the top of Alex’s head.</p>
<p>“You’re amazing,” he tells Alex.</p>
<p>“You’re still biased.”</p>
<p>Michael shrugs, because he’s guilty as charged, but heads to their bedroom so he can see what Alex has recorded for him today. He lies in bed with his large headphones on, listening to Alex singing <i>For The Last Time</i> and <i>I Love You For Sentimental Reasons</i>, starting to think that if he puts this out into the universe, the only thing his people will learn of music is that it’s all too easy to fall in love with Alex’s voice.  </p>
<p>If any alien ends up crashing down to Earth to romance Alex because of this music, they’re going to be sorely disappointed to find that he’s already been taken. </p>
<p>During his third listen of the songs, he sneaks his hand down his jeans to touch himself, only stopping when he hears Alex shuffling around and asking what he wants for dinner. He jumps, like he’s been caught with his hand down the cookie jar, but hits pause on the track. </p>
<p>“Coming!” he says, even if he’s rueful about the fact that he’s <i>not</i>. </p>
<p>At least, not until later. </p>
<p>Maybe Alex will give him a live performance and a chance for Michael to properly appreciate a romantic serenade.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Finally, after months of recording, opinions, contributions, and Alex’s living room filled to the brim with vinyl records, old CD’s, and some honest to god <i>mixtapes</i>, Michael has a final product.</p>
<p>The first person he shares it with is the person whose opinion matters to him the most. </p>
<p>“I think there’s something still missing,” Alex tells Michael, after he’s listened to the full three-hour playlist of songs that Michael intends to send into space. </p>
<p>Instantly, Michael’s defenses are up. </p>
<p>He’s spent months on this project. Alex has recorded hours of songs, with the ones culled going into Michael’s personal collection. Rosa had come through with her half-hour of eclectic tastes on display. He’s endured hours of Isobel arguing in favor of Rihanna and the entirety of Beyonce’s Lemonade making it on (she only got one of those). He’d hung out for a few evenings with Max to pick old country classics to go on there. He’d compromised with Kyle and put exactly <i>one</i> Taylor Swift song on there. Maria has recorded her own tracks (suggested by Liz), covering Selena and Alanis so beautifully that it’d make your toes curl with happiness. He’s put the work in and it’s paid off, but he’s done.</p>
<p>It’s done. </p>
<p>There is <i>nothing</i> left to do, as far as he’s concerned.</p>
<p>“Alex,” Michael warns, because he doesn’t think that he can handle any more criticisms. </p>
<p>Luckily, Alex isn’t the rest of their friends. He reaches behind him for a familiar guitar case, pressing it into Michael’s hands. Stunned, Michael takes it, unzipping it to see Gregory’s guitar, but he doesn’t get it. “Alex, what?”</p>
<p>“No collection of music for your people is ever going to be complete without a piece of you on it,” he says quietly. “One more song,” he negotiates. “You play the guitar, I’ll sing. Then it’ll be ready to go.” </p>
<p>In all the time he’d been assembling these tracks, he’d never stopped to think about his own contributions. He’s thought of this as a way for him to introduce his people to music via his friends’ talents and their tastes. </p>
<p>Gripping the neck of the guitar, he stares at the strings and tries to find the right words to explain what it means to him that Alex wants a piece of him in this collection. </p>
<p>“Alex,” Michael manages, but it sounds like his name has been scraped out, crackling and tender. He’s staring at him like he’s never seen him before, and maybe he hasn’t, not like this. He has so much faith in Michael, but also so much love for him. Michael thinks that until now, even he hadn’t realized <i>how</i> much love for him he held in his heart.</p>
<p>Alex leans in and kisses his temple. “One more song,” he insists. “The first song that your people should hear is one where you play guitar.”</p>
<p>“Biased,” Michael croaks out with a laugh.</p>
<p>“Intimately, furiously, aggressively, and absolutely,” is Alex’s weak defense, kissing Michael as hard as he can. </p>
<p>He gestures to the recording hardware, tangling up his fingers in Michael’s free hand to pull him along, as if he’s reminding him that they’re doing this together. This last piece that will complete the puzzle belongs to the two of them, and <i>then</i> it will be truly finished.</p>
<p>Alex sets him down beside the microphone, looking sexy and sweet and eager as he brushes his hair back and straddles the piano bench while Michael settles on it with his guitar. </p>
<p>“Okay, then. Let’s make music.”</p>
<p>Then, they’ll send it into the stars.</p>
<p>Somehow, it feels like that’s where it belongs.</p>
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